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Graham Henry is a little quicker to wield the proverbial cane but otherwise star five-eighth Daniel Carter cannot separate the merits of his All Blacks coach and Australian rugby opposite Robbie Deans.
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The clash of the highly successful New Zealand coaches is dominating the leadup to Saturday’s Bledisloe Cup test in Sydney but Carter did not want to fan the flames by highlighting their differences.
Five years under Henry with the All Blacks and six with Deans at the Crusaders had left him with enormous respect for both men.
“They’re pretty similar in terms of both being world class coaches. It’s quite tough to compare the two,” Carter said.
“Graham has great support from (assistants) Wayne Smith and Steve Hansen. They probably work more as a trio.
“At Crusaders level, the environment is a lot more relaxed and because (Deans) has coached at that level for such a long time, he backs the players and has a good rapport with the players.”
Another subtle difference was that Henry was more inclined to vent his feelings in the changing room if things were not running to plan.
“They both pick their times. Obviously Graham, when things need to be shaped up, the old schoolteacher comes out,” Carter smiled.
“But when he does speak like that, it’s for a reason and the guys really respond to that. It’s not a bad thing.”
Carter said the progress Deans had made with the Wallabies would not necessarily be obvious in their tactics.
Instead, his impact would be measured more in terms of player motivation and encouraging peak performance.
“Robbie is best at bringing the best out of players and I think he’s done that,” Carter said.
“He’s picked a couple of new guys like (inside centre) Berrick Barnes and Peter Hynes on the wing and they’re just stepping up and playing really well.”
Carter’s opposite, Matt Giteau, has shown sparkling form through Australia’s four-Test winning start to 2008 but Carter said that could not necessarily be attributed to Deans.
“I don’t know if that’s Robbie’s influence or not. He’s a classy player, he’s always been right up there,” he said.
“Obviously he hasn’t played a lot of Test football at 10 but he’s been given that opportunity and he’s played extremely well.”
World class pivot Carter will play his 50th Test on Saturday but said the milestone was not an important one personally.
Getting his 44th win would mean infinitely more.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.